I finally put Linux on this Chromebook Duet 3

It finally happened. I removed ChromeOS from my Lenovo Chromebook Duet 3 and installed PostmarketOS Linux. This post is an overview of how it went using ChromeOS, what made me switch, and how it has been going with PostmarketOS.

I had always been waiting for the warranty to expire on this laptop before wiping the OS, in case I brick this thing. That warranty expired at the end of October. I had been sticking with ChromeOS since it had been mostly working for what I wanted out of this laptop. However, after reviewing the state of PostmarketOS on this device and finally having enough of the papercuts from ChromeOS, I dove about a week ago.

Why I ended up with a chromebook

In October 2025 I was curious about the status of Android tablets. The last tablet I had purchased was the Samsung Galaxy Tab S5e, which I loved. Eventually, I gave it to my brother who had a much bigger need for it than I did. I missed having an ultra-portable laptop-like device, especially since the S5e has Dex Mode.

I don’t have the budget for new hardware, so I was living vicariously through other folks on YouTube who were using the latest Android tablets. One day I watched a video about the Lenovo IdeaPad Chromebook Duet 3 on a whim and was super impressed. The fact that ChromeOS has quality support for Android apps and a Linux Environment made me reconsider my bias towards ChromeOS.

The key feature the Duet 3 has is dual USB-C ports that both do video output. You can’t do three monitors, but you can dock from either USB-C port and the other is available for other USB devices. This is unheard of for Android tablets, unless you are shopping in the premium tier. Premium Android tablets are in the $1,000 USD range. This Duet 3 was under $300 and came with a keyboard case and a stylus.

For a few days I talked to my wife about this tablet/laptop with no intention of purchasing. I just wanted someone to talk about it with. About a week later she surprised me with it. I was floored and I’m still unsure where she found the money. My suspicion is something else didn’t get paid.

Why now?

I’m gonna skip how it has gone over the last 15 months because I have documented it here on the blog and on my Mastodon. I’ve had a lot of fun with ChromeOS and it is significantly more capable than it gets credit for from enthusiasts. I hadn’t pursued Linux on this device because I was waiting for the warranty to expire. Yes, it is unlikely that I would damage it in a way that would void the warranty by simply flashing some sort of Linux to the eMMC. However, I do not have the money to take those chances. I don’t have the funds to replace this device should the unlikely happen. So, I waited.

Recently I have also been writing a lot about choosing a new EDC laptop. I have been going through this process because I felt I had reached the end of using a ChromeOS device. There were too many papercuts and I missed having a proper OS on my EDC laptop. Some examples of the papercuts:

1. Working with files is a kludge. When you open the Files app on ChromeOS, it is generally unaware of the other programs on the system you can use to edit those files. If I wanted to edit one of my markdown notes files in Markor, I can’t click on the file and expect it to open Markor. I have to go to Markor and then open the file.
2. File syncing with Nextcloud. Since ChromeOS doesn’t have apps, I have to choose from Linux or Android. Both of those are virtualized. So, if I use the Nextcloud sync client on Linux, it is a serious PITA to then use an Android app to interact with it. I ended up using FolderSync on Android to get the files, but then passing those files to the Linux Environment was another kludge.
3. Take these same file issues and apply them to everything. Download something with the native Chrome browser and want to edit? Remember all your workarounds to get it to the right app. Network shares? Good luck.
4. Elimination of virtual machines. This was another hack. Up to a few months ago you could enable multiple crostini containers, which essentially work as virtual machines. You could have your main (penguin) and then create new for other testing. That option disappeared.
5. The Linux environment doesn’t start on boot. You have to manually start it, which will fail to start like 20% of the time and you have to try multiple times.
6. Linux GUI apps are wonky. They look like you are using VNC to access them. Some of them make the cursor gigantic. Some run, like the Nexcloud client, but are completely broken when you try to view them. Yes, its running, but you can’t open and see it.

I could go on and on. None of these are impossible to work around and I eventually found those. I got exhausted dealing with it.

Love for UMPCs

While looking through my stack of old laptops I was contemplating what to replace this chromebook with. I don’t have the funds to buy something. Honestly, I have some decent laptops in that stack. They’re older enterprise devices I have been given from friends, family, and the awesome Nixbook Mike. The problem is all of them are huge. Heavy. Plus, they require huge charging bricks. None of this works for my life as a contractor who works from his truck most days. Can I make it work? Sure. I was prepared to. In fact, I started carrying a Dell Latitude 7490.

A little secret about me: I absolutely adore tiny laptops. Back in the day they were called UMPCs, or ultra mobile PCs. I’m talking 10 inch or even as small as 7 inch laptops. There are manufactures making these laptops, too. I would love to get my hands on a device like the GPD Win Max 2. Occasionally I will meander through the web looking at these devices with no intention of purchasing, just to day dream. It is why I love this Duet chromebook. Its tiny. Easily the most portable laptop I’ve ever ownned.

Then it hit me. I have a UMPC, It just has the wrong operating system on it.

PostmarketOS lives here

I’m not going to go into a step-by-step how-to for installing PostmarketOS. There are plenty of guiddes out there, including the official documentation that is pretty good. I am going to talk about how it has been going.

Setup took about an hour and that includes backing up a few things on ChromeOS before starting. The Edge image wouldn’t boot, so I ended up using the latest stable. Initially I went with Gnome for the DE thinking I would still use the touchscreen when necessary. PostmarketOS is built on Apline Linux and I knew I would have a bit of a learning curve, along with feeling out Gnome. I’m a hardcord Debian + XFCE nerd.

For the most part this install just worked. Sane defaults and flatpak is configured out of the box. The touchscreen is hit and miss. After waking from suspend the touchscreen is unresponsive, but the rest of the system is fine. There are some known screen rotation bugs so I ended up locking it to landscape. In general everything was fine and could use as a functional laptop.

Where I ran into problems was getting Docker configured. I am a heavy Docker user and I could not get Docker configured. I then tried using Podman and it worked. I have never used Podman, but it seemed fine. Just add it to the list of new things to learn with this laptop.

It wasn’t working. Every container used a UID different than my user, so I was stuck in Linux permissions hell. This in turn affected Distrobox and that hurt. Since I’m using Alpine for the first time I really want Distrobox as a fallback for various apps that are not packaged for Alpine. Using Podman I was first having overlayfs errors. Then it was runc errors that turned to crun errors. All the fixes I tried I kept coming back to that there is some problem with Podman and systemd on this OS.

Sure enough, that was the problem. Since I had locked the screen orientation and wasn’t using the touchscreen, I reinstalled PostmarketOS and selected by beloved XFCE and went with openrc instead of systemd. I no longer have Docker, Podman, or Distrobox errors.

Other than these container troubles, everything works. Battery life is fantastic. I can dock at my desk for dual screens. All the software I want is available. I am able to keep my ultra portable laptop and it now has a real operating system on it. I mean, I wrote this post on it using my favorite tooling. I’ve been using it for hours on the couch (feel like a cold is coming on) and I still have 76% battery.

I believe I have solved my EDC laptop problem.

Wrapping up

I will be posting other projects I do with this Duet as I adventure with PostmarketOS. I have a handful of apps I need to get installed with Distrobox as they are Debian only. This should give me a chance to try running GUI apps through Distrobox, something I’ve never tried. I also want to get a few games installed to see how it does. I briefly tested Luanti with VoxeLibre and was getting 60FPS with no adjustments.

I have also posted a video that is a similar overview to getting PostmarketOS on this Lenovo Duet chromebook. You can check that out here: Leaving ChromeOS for PostmarketOS on the Levovo Duet 3 - Thoughts & Overview.

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